Tax inspectors without borders

A new initiative, dubbed ‘tax inspectors without borders’ has been launched to help poor countries crack down on tax avoidance and fund their own development.

According to policy research group, Global Financial Integrity, nearly US$1 trillion is estimated to leave poor countries each year in illicit finance, stemming from tax evasion, crime and corruption.

To help developing countries stop these outflows, the ‘tax inspectors without borders’ initiative will see experts from well-functioning states lend a hand to officials in poorer countries with carrying out audits to detect tax dodging; mainly by multinationals. A number of multinationals are using aggressive tax planning to reduce their tax bills, or avoid paying taxes altogether.

It is hard to imagine how such an initiative will play out given the dangers that exist in some developing countries around the globe – do we picture paramilitary types carrying calculators?